


Surprise

by yuminpa



Category: Ori and the Blind Forest
Genre: (of joy!!!), Crying, Gen, I was debating on whether or not to add kuro and ruin it all, ORI SPEAKS, Reunions, Spoilers for mid/endgame blind forest, They all deserve so much happiness, buuuut no, ori and naru can have a little happiness. As a treat, unlike my first fic which no one saw anyway, very wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23287831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuminpa/pseuds/yuminpa
Summary: A mother's short-lived reunion with her child.
Relationships: Naru & Ori, like a parent child relationship?
Kudos: 33





	Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Uh yeah hi!!  
> I know this isn't necessarily canon— but I wanted to write it either way. I'm sorry if I get any plot points or lore wrong or whatever...I haven't played Blind Forest in a really long time.  
> But yeah!! Enjoy!
> 
> Also major spoilers for mid/endgame blind forest, so if you haven't played it yet or don't know anything pleaaaaaase don't read this yet. Wait until you've beaten it, if you haven't already!
> 
> I'm just writing this to distract myself from the WOTW ending ;w; that shit hurted  
> ANYWAY enjoy this! It's not canon but eh I like it  
> also comments are super appreciated..

The trek back into the Hollow Grove was rocky and full of enough obstacles that none could be bothered to deal with; and all Ori wanted was some sort of break; but obviously, he wasn't going to get one with the current circumstances. 

The pair— both him and Sein— had just obtained the Sunstone: a legendary stone that would open Mount Horu and allow the duo to finally save Nibel once and for all, given the fact they had restored the other two elements beforehand; the Elements of both the Waters, and the Wind. 

The Element of Heat was next, and they were close. They just had to scale Mount Horu which, to Ori, who was incredibly naïve despite all this, didn’t sound terribly difficult...

He had most likely been through much worse; so he was convinced Horu was going to be a mere breeze. 

That was, until him and Sein opened the gate to the mountain with the Sunstone, and Sein then began to speak. 

“Nibel’s source of warmth…all its glory has burned. Let's be careful; many of those that entered this place have never returned.” She said informatively, a sliver of doubt showing itself through her voice, though. 

Ori would have nodded in understanding of her words and would have ventured straight in as if nothing was going to happen and he did not have anything to worry about— but her words struck him in a way he did not expect. 

_ Many of those that entered this place have never returned. _

He stared at the open entrance for a good moment, debating whether or not to just walk in there and get it all over with; but he seemed to squirm and step back a bit. 

This surprised Sein. 

“Ori? What's wrong? Are you afraid?”

Her tone sounded as if she was mocking him for being afraid; but she would never do something like that. She understood if he was afraid; Mount Horu was too bright, even for a guardian spirit like him; and it could blister and burn and kill. 

For someone like him, it would be no surprise if he was truly afraid. 

It was understandable. 

“I'm not afraid, I just…” He tilted his head slightly, his ears drooping. He continued stepping back down, cautiously rubbing his arm as people do when they get shy or nervous. 

“I don't know…”

“This isn't like you…” She uttered once again, following Ori back down the steps. 

It was obvious, now, that she seemed afraid, too; anything could happen in there. 

He may get injured or burned and he may die, and usually, that would be okay; considering the existence of Soul Links. 

But what if he forgot to place one— or one became unreachable? 

Or perhaps, once they reach the peak of the mountain and come closer to restoring the Element of Heat— Kuro will swoop in and hurt the both of them, rendering them vulnerable and stuck;  _ not  _ being able to save Nibel as they had hoped…

But Sein knew she was reaching too far at that point. 

And then she decided to break the long silence between the two. 

“You can't give up now, though! We've gotten so far, just one more element and the whole forest will be restored!” She insisted.

Ori’s tone did not match hers, though. 

“I'm  _ not _ giving up, and I'm  _ not  _ afraid. I  _ want _ to go in, and I know I'm  _ physically  _ ready, but...mentally…?” He said, sounding unsure.

His vocabulary was awfully good for a Spirit this age. He did not usually like talking, either; so this was a surprise.

Now, though, his arms were wrapped around himself, so as to give some sort of comfort that Sein could not. He stopped walking back, and his gaze was fixated on the mountain’s gate. 

“It's okay if you're not ready yet, but we  _ have  _ to go in eventually,” She inched closer to the guardian spirit, her voice growing quieter. 

“If you want, we can go back and collect more Life or Energy cells.”

“I don't think I need any more of those.”

“Okay, um...do you think you missed any Ancestral Trees?”

“No.”

“Then…?” She questioned, sounding confused; she didn't know what Ori wanted or why he did not want to climb Mount Horu yet. 

They were both ready, physically. He had absorbed the light from all of the Ancestral Trees and collected all of the Life and Energy Cells, and found and searched every nook and cranny of Nibel; so, what else was there to do?

“It's not that I'm afraid or not physically ready,” Ori began again, ushering Sein to float slightly lower, around Ori’s level. 

Somehow, she understood what he was trying to communicate to her; and did so, now floating within arms reach; and he simply held her with one hand, rather surprised at how warm her light was and how lightweight she was, too. 

Mixed with the heat of Mount Horu and its outskirts, this much heat and light should be uncomfortable.

But the pair were fine with it. 

“I  _ am _ ready. Physically, I mean. I have everything. But I feel like something’s...holding me back…? Like I shouldn't really go in there just yet. It's like my mind is telling me, ‘danger, you can't go in there’...”

“But you've been in tons of life threatening situations before on this journey…”

“I know, and I've ignored every single ‘danger’ warning before. But this one feels different. Like I can't ignore it.”

“Well…” Sein pondered for a moment, wondering what to do; he couldn't just stand here until Ori felt as if he was ready to do what he had to do. 

“Maybe if you want we can take one last look at Nibel and then come back and see how you feel…? I think we might have a little time…but you have to make it quick!”

With that, Ori nodded, smiling down at the orb of light in his hand. 

“Sounds good. I'll make it quick.”

If she had a body, she would smile back at him. 

And with that, he simply walked away from Mount Horu and with it, his worry and uncertainty, too. 

The two ended up talking about how the mission had been, and how they did not seem to believe that it was over  _ already _ …

  
  


***

But as the two were obtaining the Sunstone and walking back into the Hollow Grove, something else down near Swallows Nest was occurring, that neither knew about.   
  


Gumo had retrieved a Light Vessel, somehow, from his old home: the Forlorn Ruins. 

He had ventured into Swallows Nest and used the Light Vessel to revive Naru. It was a wonder he even knew about her, but he did nonetheless. 

Once she awoke and Gumo told her of the current situation her child was in, despite feeling weak and slightly ill, she and him ventured off into the depths of Nibel to eventually track Ori down. 

Naru just wanted to see her child again, even if it meant risking her own life yet again. 

She would do anything for him. 

_ Anything.  _

But that was a while ago. 

Right now, though, her and Gumo were far into Sunken Glades. Gumo was leading her into the Hollow Grove, though; he knew that Ori was going to be there; he knew his journey was nearing an end, and he understood her concern for him and the want for him to be safe and in her arms. 

And that was going to happen soon: he was going to be there and in her arms…

She just had to trust Gumo, and she did. 

***

Sein and Ori had not made it especially far; the pair were still in Hollow Grove, but seemed to be descending out of it and into the Sunken Glades. 

It seemed as if Ori was walking back to Swallows Nest, and Sein did not understand why. 

Ori said he would never go back there; there was no point. If he did, he would just be reminded of what he thought was Naru’s death, her permanent absence; and then he would curl up next to her and eventually die of starvation, just like her, despite the weight of the world resting on his shoulders.

...But it was unlikely he was going that way, anyway. He just needed something to do to waste time.

He would never return to Swallows Nest, despite the overpowering urge to do so that made itself clear very frequently. Perhaps he just wanted to go to Sunken Glades for the fun of it; to stall just a bit more from entering Mount Horu and eventually ending his whole journey. 

  
  


Sooner or later, though, he had entered the Sunken Glades.

Instead of carrying on, though, Ori just stopped in his tracks, Sein still in his grasp. 

“Why did you stop?” Sein asked, looking up at him. 

“...I don't know whether or not I should go back to Horu. I feel like I'm ready now, but...” He tilted his head again, turning back towards the Hollow Grove, but not making any action to walk towards it. 

“I think we still have a bit of time. But you  _ are _ going to have to go back to Horu eventually.”

“I know, you've told me millions of times already.” He let out a chuckle. 

“Have I? Sorry.”

“It's okay. I don't really mind the reminders.”

***

Naru and Gumo were close to the end of the Sunken Glades and seemed to be making their way towards the Hollow Grove. 

They did not talk as much as Ori and Sein did; there was no reason to. 

Naru just wanted to see her child and Gumo was helping her find him— there was no reason to talk.

Of course there was the odd mutter and odd consolation; but that didn't necessarily add more to their bleak conversation, and that was okay. 

All they wanted was to track Ori down and see him again. 

And they were close to doing so anyway. 

***

Now, the two were in the Sunken Glades, still talking away, some rather idiotic topics coming up but mostly they talked about how surprised they were to see the journey end so fast. 

They undeniably wanted it to. 

They wanted Nibel to go back to normal, and would not stop until it did so; and Nibel was so close to returning! 

The forest could finally open its eyes again and new life can sprout!

“I think I'm ready now.” Ori flashed a warm smile at the orb of light that was still in his hands; and if Sein had a body, that smile would be reciprocated. 

“Are you sure?” She asked cautiously. 

“Yeah, I think—” 

Ori’s words fizzled out as they were coming out; he had made the decision to look to the side, expecting to see a Corruption or just some flat, boring, bleak land; but he saw both Naru and Gumo instead. 

And he froze. 

Gumo was smiling and muttering something to Naru who only seemed to freeze up just like Ori.

For a moment, Ori just stood there, letting the tears in his eyes stream down his face and dampen his fur; he was so sure that Naru was dead, this whole time…!

He was so sure that he was never going to see his mother again…

In fact he was certain that this was a hallucination, just his sight playing mere tricks on him; that if he ran to her and gave her a huge hug like he wanted to, that everything would disappear and the hallucination would fizzle and die out, just like his poor mother—

But then reality came back, and he let out a choked sob, knowing this is real...

_She was right there...!_

“Ori? Hey, we have to go—” Sein spoke up again, oblivious to what was happening right next to her—

But then, in the blink of an eye, Ori tossed her aside, running straight over to Naru, who was crying too, now; both their arms were open, and when Ori jumped in to her grasp, those arms closed, and the pair were wrapped in a tight, cosy embrace, weeping, mumbling to each other about how much they missed each other…

It took awhile for Sein to come back to her senses; she had just gotten tossed to the floor!

“Wh—  _ Ori!”  _ She sounded as if she was angry, but Ori paid no attention…

That anger dissipated though, once she saw what happened and why Ori did such a sudden thing. She floated over to the emotional pair, and then, next to Gumo. 

If she had a body, she would smile brightly at this; but alas, she did not.

“What…?” 

Gumo looked over at her, smiling brightly.

“Did you do this…?”

He nodded to her question. 

“How did you—…”

Midway through asking another question, Sein realised:  _ the Light Vessel… _

_ He used it to save her! _

How he even knew about her, none of them knew; but none of them worried about that. 

Ori and Naru were reunited, and it was a joyous occasion for everyone involved…

But, alas, it  _ did  _ have to be cut short; Ori remembered about Mount Horu, and the fact they still had to restore the Element of Heat— and because of that...he had to let go. 

So, reluctantly, he did. He let go and attempted to jump down from the hug, succeeding, Naru letting go once she figured out that he needed to do so. 

Everyone that could smile, was doing so. 

“Gumo used a Light Vessel from the Forlorn Ruins to bring Naru back!” Sein told Ori, enthusiasm and happiness in her voice yet again. 

Ori looked at Gumo, who was laughing nervously, despite being proud of what he did.

“T-thank you...so much…” Ori flashed a smile at the Gumon and he flashed one back. He looked back at Sein, though, wiping the tears away from his face. “W-we have to go though, don't we…?”

“We do.” Sein responded back informatively, and the smile on all their faces faded. 

But then she began again, saying: “I know you don't want to leave each other, even for a moment, but  _ we _ have to restore Nibel. And then after that, everything will be back to normal!”

Despite not wanting to leave each other, both Ori and Naru nodded...and then went in for a hug again. 

“I love you…” They both uttered simultaneously, Ori snuggling up against Naru’s fur before letting go, jumping off and turning back, now facing Hollow Grove once again.

He walked away slightly, slowly; and Sein followed him, but he had to look back, just once…

At his mother, the best creature he knew, and at Gumo; who had saved her and brought her here. 

He would also, eventually, be calling Gumo a father; but he did not know that yet. None of them did; unless Sein was omniscient.

He flashed a smile at the dark creatures who smiled back, and he waved at them before running back off into Hollow Grove, his nimble body and quick reflexes dodging all of the unnecessary Corruptions and traps. 

  
  
  
  


Little did they know, though; the next time Naru was going to see Ori was not going to be as much of a joyous time as this was. 

Gumo was not going to be there, and she would somehow scale a mountain to get to her child at the summit; but her child would be mortally wounded, and unconscious…

She would cradle him and the huge, loud owl towering above them would rethink all of her actions. 

  
  
  


But they did not know that yet. 

  
  
  



End file.
